Skillet Lasagna

My Kind Of Lasagna

After the chaos of the holidays, I’m all about dinners right now that are as easy as humanly possible. Enter this skillet lasagna. ♡

It delivers all the cozy, saucy, cheesy vibes of classic lasagna — without the multiple-hours-of-prep and layering commitment. Everything cooks together in one pan, the noodles soak up a perfectly flavorful tomato sauce, and it’s all finished with generous scoops of ricotta and plenty of melty cheese.

We had friends over to taste-test this one, and everyone raved, went back for seconds, and immediately asked for the recipe. The flavors are simple but so good. If you love lasagna as much as we do, I can’t recommend this one enough!

Recipe Tips

A few helpful tips before you grab your skillet and dive in…

• Use a deep skillet. A 12-inch skillet with higher sides works best so there’s room for the sauce and noodles to simmer without splashing everywhere. That said, if you don’t own a large skillet, a Dutch oven will totally work too.
• Break the noodles into big pieces. Think large shards, not tiny bits. Bigger pieces give you that classic lasagna feel and hold their texture better.
• Keep the noodles mostly submerged. Press them down gently into the sauce so they cook evenly. If a few edges peek out, no worries — just stir occasionally.
• Add liquid as needed. Different noodle brands absorb differently! So if things look dry while simmering, add a splash of water or broth and keep going.
• Season lightly at first. Marinara and sausage can vary in saltiness, so I would wait until the end to adjust seasoning once everything comes together.
• Finish covered for melty cheese. Trapping the steam helps the cheese melt beautifully without drying out the sauce.
• Broil briefly if you’d like. Totally optional, but a quick broil will give the cheese those yummy, bubbly golden spots.

Recipe Variations

This skillet lasagna is endlessly flexible. Here are a few easy ways to switch it up…

• Make it vegetarian. Skip the sausage and add sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach instead. Or you can sub in your favorite plant-based Italian sausage.
• Use ground beef or turkey. Italian sausage adds great flavor, but plain ground meat works too — just add a pinch more seasoning.
• Go extra saucy. Add an extra ½ cup marinara if you like your lasagna very saucy and spoonable.
• Add veggies. Bell peppers, kale, spinach, or chopped broccoli florets all work well here.
• Swap the ricotta. Cottage cheese (blended smooth) or mascarpone are great alternatives if you don’t love ricotta.
• Make it spicy. Use hot Italian sausage or add extra red pepper flakes to the sauce.

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Skillet Lasagna

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

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Description

This one-pan skillet lasagna delivers all the cozy, cheesy comfort of classic lasagna with a fraction of the effort.

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Ingredients

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• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
  
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• 1 (24-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  
• 1 cup water or chicken broth
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (plus extra for garnish)
  
• 8 lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces
  
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
  
• 1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
  
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  
• fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet (12-inch) or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 5–6 minutes. Drain excess grease if needed.
2. Sauté the aromatics. Add onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano; cook 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Build the sauce. Stir in marinara sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes with their juices, and 1 cup water or broth. Bring to a simmer. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Add noodles. Nestle broken lasagna noodles into the sauce, pressing so they’re mostly submerged. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash more water if needed, until noodles are just tender.
5. Make it cheesy. Stir in fresh basil. Dollop ricotta over the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover again and cook for 3–5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. If you’d like the cheese a bit more golden, you can turn on the broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on the cheese so that it doesn’t burn.
6. Serve. Top with extra fresh basil and a few twists of black pepper, if you’d like. Serve warm and enjoy!

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